Cross-Selling on Mobile Since some mobile users don t communicate with their bank through any other channel, you need to use personalized, customized ads to grab their attention and video messages may be the best way to do that. BY WALT ALBRO HOW DOES A BANK ENGAGE WITH AND CROSS-SELL TO MOBILE CUS- TOMERS? In the past, the bank might have used a blanket advertisement such as Think of us when you need a home loan. But, of course, such generic messages are irrelevant and even irritating to the majority of recipients who are not looking for a mortgage. Banks today use customer data from their customer relationship management (CRM) system to figure out what is the next best product for a particular customer. Banks have an opportunity on mobile to target this customer with a relevant, customized message. 16 ABA BANK MARKETING AND SALES SEPTEMBER 2014
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CROSS-SELLING ON MOBILE Late last year, Bank of the West, San Francisco, became one of the nation s first financial institutions to use personalized cross-sell advertisements on a mobile channel. To date, the financial institution has employed about a dozen mobile ad campaigns dealing with topics such as auto loans, home equity loans and e-statements. Testing suggests that offering instructional videos on the mobile channel is one of the best ways to boost engagement. The bank, however, does not refer to this approach as crossselling. We call it dynamic customer messaging, explains Matt Krogstad, vice president for mobile banking and payments. The bank sends out practical, personalized educational information. Many of the messages are not selling a product or service. Once we get them engaged, it opens the door to discussions about products and services, he says. The bank s testing suggests that offering instructional videos on a mobile channel is one of the best ways to boost engagement. Earlier this year, the bank used a mobile campaign to follow up on media stories about data compromises at several large retail stores. The mobile message encouraged users to view an existing video about digital fraud prevention. As a result, the bank saw a 10-fold increase in the video s viewership. We ve concluded that it is absolutely a worthwhile way to engage mobile customers, says Krogstad. Go West Founded in 1874, Bank of the West operates a network of more than 650 retail, wealth, commercial and corporate banking locations in 21Western and Midwestern states. It has $68 billion in assets and is a subsidiary of BNP Paribas, based in France, which has a presence in 75 countries. The bank attempts to preserve the feel of a community financial institution through relationship banking and an emphasis on quality customer service and engagement. The logo features a grizzly bear reminiscent of the image on the California state flag; this is coupled with the tag line, Go West. Krogstad says that the bank does not believe in technological change just for the sake of change. With respect to mobile banking, Bank of the West wanted to push the envelope and innovate intelligently but only when it produced customer value. The institution introduced mobile banking in February These three targeted mobile phone messages from Bank of the West, San Francisco, encourage customers to call the bank about home-equity loans, auto loans or enrollment in online statements. Note that the message for online statements includes a $5 incentive payment. 18 ABA BANK MARKETING AND SALES SEPTEMBER 2014
These two mobile phone ads from Bank of the West, San Francisco, encourage the targeted customer to view videos one on fraud protection, the other on insurance. Targeting is based on customer data dealing with profiles, attributes or activities. 2013. The bank says that it was the first in North America to offer a mobile Quick Balance that provides an account balance without the need to log in. It s the fastest way to get your balance; it takes only two to three seconds, he says. The quick-balance service proved popular: About 12 percent of the mobile banking customers use the feature, an average of 21 times monthly. Last November, the bank launched dynamic customer messaging. Krogstad says that the idea is based on the fact that the bank has a tradition of close customer engagement, and it wanted to maintain that level of engagement with mobile users some of whom do not communicate with the institution through any other channel. The mobileonly communicators are typically retail customers, but extend across all demographic groups. Remote Teller Business Development Tablet Lobby Screen G E T Y O U R P L A Y L I S T P E R F E C T ATM Vertical Engagement Station Outdoor Signs Drive Up Ask Sharon for a copy of the Perfect Playlist Booth #409 - ABA Bank Marketing Conference 800-724-8947 kioskanddisplay.com 2014 The Kiosk & Display Company, Inc. Reach this advertiser through http://links.aba.com SEPTEMBER 2014 ABA BANK MARKETING AND SALES 19
CROSS-SELLING ON MOBILE Bank of the West, San Francisco, calls its mobile phone cross-sell advertising dynamic messaging. This message encourages the customer to look at a map showing the bank s new branches in San Francisco. This type of message needs to be personalized and delivered at the right time through the right channel. The message does not have to be a hard sell, Krogstad notes. What we are doing is trying to earn their respect and trust first, and then we talk to them about products and services that might benefit them. Messaging is developed either for the pre-login or post-login screens. The bank typically promotes educational tools such as videos on the pre-login screen to help customers learn about banking, banking tools or safe banking practices. When we don t know who the customer is, as in the pre-login phase, we are trying to add value to the experience by providing useful information that would benefit a large variety of customers and engage them generally, says Kristina Nielsen, vice president of digital marketing. Once the user logs in, the experience is slightly different because, at this point, the bank knows who the customers are, what types of products they have and what other products might be a good fit for them. An example of this might be that we know, because of their profile, that they might need a particular product, so that s the ad we show them, says Nielsen. Or, that there is a new branch in their area, so we let them know about it. The advantage to dynamic messaging is that if the first ad does not work as well as expected the marketer receives immediate feedback. The marketing team determines which messages are sent to which people at which time, based on CRM data containing profiles, activities or attributes. We want to customize the experience for each customer and make it relevant, says Nielsen. In the future, we hope to be able to have a one-to-one marketing experience. Sometimes marketing messages are sent out on all channels online, contact center, branch lobby, mobile and so forth. An example of such a message might be one encouraging customers to switch to e-statements. In other cases, such as a promotion for mobile deposit, the message might be sent on mobile and only a few other channels. Mobile is one of many channels we use to promote various campaigns, says Nielsen. There are times when marketing is driven by a mobile-only service such as quick balance, but, even in these instances, we promote it on other channels. Five types of messages To date, Bank of the West has conducted 12 marketing campaigns through mobile. Here are the five types of ads used based on the nature of what customers are referred to once they tap their mobile device. m Tap to watch. The message takes customers directly to an education video posted on Bank of the West s YouTube channel. Video topics can range from mortgages to fraud prevention. m Tap to locate a branch. When the bank opens a branch, it sends mobile customers within a certain radius notification about the new facility. m Tap to call. Messages target customers with relevant products and offers, enabling customers to call directly to the relevant call center. This message is used to generate warm leads for such products as auto loans, home equity linesof-credit or e-statements. m Tap to learn more. Customers obtain information on a relevant product by clicking through to a mobile-optimized landing page. The decision as to whether a customer receives a tap-to-call or a tap-to-learn-more message depends upon whether the message deals with a specific offer or a softer call-to-action. An example of a customer who might be targeted with a tap-to-learn-more message: a business customer who has not recently purchased a product. Since these customers are not yet ready to make a purchase, they are not sent directly to the contact center. Instead, they are sent to a landing page, where they can choose whether or not they want to take the next step. 20 ABA BANK MARKETING AND SALES SEPTEMBER 2014
m Tap to action. These messages promote a mobile feature or service and take the users directly to the relevant feature within the app to allow the customer to experience it. Examples of promoted features: quick balance and mobile bill pay. Video is huge The bank has learned that mobile videos generate the most engagement, possibly because they take little effort to watch. Video consumption is huge right now, says Krogstad. Bank of the West has a collection of educational videos posted on YouTube. When the bank wants to target a specific type of customer, say, for example, someone who recently applied for a mortgage, the bank can broadcast a message to this target to click to see a video about a related subject say one about insurance and how it will impact the mortgage application process. This is something that will add value for the customer. The advantage to dynamic messaging is that if the first ad does not work as well as expected the marketer receives immediate feedback. We can quickly tell if a message resonates with our customers because they either tap on the message or they don t, says Krogstad. Based on their actions, we can continuously refine our future messages and improve the experience. Dynamic messaging has been implemented only recently, and, to date, about 90 percent of the ads have been soft, educational messages. Thus, Krogstad observes, most of the returnon-investment evidence is anecdotal, and it s not yet possible to generate hard numbers. In general, customer feedback has been positive, and customers clearly appreciate the fact that the bank is trying to be relevant to them at the right time, Krogstad notes. What remains to be seen, however, is how possible it will be to fulfill the acquisition of bank products from end-toend through mobile only. We re looking at how we can take the next step in that evolution, says Krogstad. One idea is to take advantage of the mobile camera to assist in the customer application process. For example, if the bank is missing a document for a mortgage application, can the bank notify the customer through mobile and then have the customer use his or her camera to take a photograph of the needed document and transmit the image to the bank? The vision is to continue using mobile devices to help make banking less work for the customer, Krogstad adds. n ABOUT THE AUTHOR WALT ALBRO is the editor of ABA Bank Marketing and Sales magazine, Washington, D.C. Email: Walbro@aba.com. Consumers Can t Buy What They Can t Find. If people can t see you online, you re missing a huge selling opportunity. Pannos Winzeler Marketing can get you seen online prominently, where and when people are shopping for financial services. Plus, it s cost effective, trackable and complements your SEO efforts. Give us a call... We ll show you how it s done! Here s a test. Conduct an online search for checking accounts and add any of your branch towns. If you re not prominent on page one, then you may be invisible during the buying process. James Pannos, CFMP jpannos@pannoswinzeler.com cell (617) 962-2182 Langdon Andrews landrews@pannoswinzeler.com cell (781) 366-3076 877.630.6115 pannoswinzeler.com Reach this advertiser through http://links.aba.com SEPTEMBER 2014 ABA BANK MARKETING AND SALES 21